The next day.

"It's coming out soon." Looking at the steam-powered ship moored in front of him, Fang Yan sighed with emotion. 2o meters long and 5 meters wide, compared to the 7o meters long and 15 meters wide, the Stoneblade is simply a behemoth, if it weren't for Old Tom's repeated assurances, Fang Yan really didn't believe that such a small ship could sail in the ocean.

The main color of the cabin is red, and the bottom of the boat is white, and the architectural style is angular and looks like a sharp arrow ready to be prepared. As a new type of steam-powered ship, the layout of the ship is a little different from that of a traditional sailboat, in addition to two raised sails, there is also a tall black chimney, with a spiral oar on each side of the hull, which makes this ship a little more novel, Fang Yan looked at it a little distracted.

At this time, Fang Yan was staying in the dock inside the "Tom and Jerry" shipyard, surrounded by several pirates in addition to the two brothers Tom and Jerry, the owners of the shipyard and their shipwrights.

These pirates were naturally the crew members Fang Yan had found. It is not enough for a ship to have a captain and a bare-rod commander, and it also needs the division of labor and cooperation to successfully sail, although the crew is a little small at the moment, but it is barely enough for this steamship. And even these few people were found by Fang Yan when he returned to the Bayblade, which was still resting and had not yet set sail, to ask Hawley for help, no way, the Tom brothers' steam-powered ship was so famous in the harbor of Bilgewater that no one dared to sit on it, these pirates came because of Hawley's face and high lure - of course, the main reason was the latter.

Uh, why did Fang Yan finally risk his life and agree to go to sea on this ship? In addition to the fact that Brother Tom repeatedly assured that the ship would be absolutely fine, Fang Yan had a little trust, and there was also a small reason that the 1ooo gold reward that Old Tom promised Fang Yan yesterday had risen to 2ooo gold coins...... It's really just a small reason!

All in all, today Fang Yan and a few lured pirate crews are ready to sail this steam-powered ship that doesn't look so safe to sail to the Devil's Sea to find the Dark Lord.

The shipyard was built near the sea. The dock is connected to the sea water on three sides6 sides, and now the steam-powered ship is moored in the waterway, and as long as the dock door is opened, it can sail down the waterway to the sea. After the final debugging said that there was no problem, Fang Yan boarded the ship with several pirate crews.

"Finally set sail?" Old Tom looked at the boat in a daze.

Old Jerry on the side looked at the boat with a deep look in his eyes: "Yes, our children are on their way...... It will definitely work! Certain! ”

"Woo-" with a loud bang. The dock door, which divides the sea and the dockyard, slowly opens at this moment, and the harsh sunlight shines in from the outside, gilding the dark water with a golden glow.

Old Tom's mouth turned into a smile of hope: "Yes, it will work." ”

At the chimney of the ship, a puff of black smoke rose straight up, and the propellers on both sides of the hull began to turn. The boat moved slowly.

Old Tom's eyes seemed to flicker, he took a few steps forward, put his hands to his mouth in a trumpet shape, and shouted at Fang Yan, who was standing at the bow of the boat: "Young man! Come up with a name for the ship! ”

Fang Yan was stunned, and looked at the two gray-headed old men on the shore in silence. The ship moved forward slowly but firmly. Just as he was about to leave the dock, a clear and resolute voice came out of the ship:

"Hopefully! Its name is Hope, and it is our Hope! ”

"Hope...... Hopefully? ”

The two brothers looked at each other, saw the tears in each other's eyes, and laughed loudly at the same time. Perhaps no one present could understand that the two old men had dedicated their lives to the ship, and the boat was not a tool for them, but their relatives and children. They looked into the eyes of the ship at this moment. How similar is it to the look in Dolan's eyes when he sent Fang Yan away?

"Steam-powered ships will definitely replace wind-powered sailboats as the mainstream at sea." Looking at the Hope, which had turned into a black dot in the distance, old Jerry said suddenly.

This is the philosophy that the two brothers have adhered to for many years. But it gradually wore out in the failures again and again, and also consumed the best years of the two. Mockery, contempt, snubbing...... The heart that has been silent for more than ten years has long been extinguished in the hope that has been extinguished again and again...... Could it be that it finally has to be realized at this time?

Turning his head to stare at the old brother who had been by his side for many years. Old Tom smiled serenely, "It will be, because ...... It's hope. ”

The sun shines silently on the water. Plating it with a layer of gold.

The ship set sail.

……

The sun is scorching.

A white shadow scurried across the sea. Kick off a large tumbling wave, dragging a long white line behind you.

"This degree! It's a flying feeling! Standing at the bow of the boat with his arms outstretched in a posture of embracing the sea, Fang Yan raised his head slightly and closed his eyes, with a hint of enjoyment on his face.

By now, Fang Yan could finally be sure that what Old Tom said was true, that steam-powered ships were indeed much faster than wind-powered sailboats. Now the degree of "Hope" is even higher than the full voyage of "Stinger"!

You know, if you don't count the weight on the ship, the larger the hull of the ship on the open ocean, the faster, because the wind borrowed by the big ship is multiplied. The Bayblade is an out-and-out five-masted ship, especially if it is still a degree type, but the Hope is more than twice as small as an ordinary three-masted ship, and if it is replaced by a wind sailing ship of the same size compared with the Bayer, it will definitely open a huge degree gap. However, the reality is that the Hope is more than the Bayonet.

It can be seen that the Tom brothers' admiration for steam-powered ships is not without reason.

However, Fang Yan was worried about one thing: "...... Will the ship suddenly fall apart halfway through? I heard that in the past, those test ships were fine no matter how many days they sailed in the near sea, but as soon as they sailed to the ocean, this kind of problem occurred and finally the ship was destroyed and people died, and I don't know what happened......

However, since you have already boarded the ship, it is a little redundant to think about these again, and you can only try your best to take precautions, and the final result is really fateful. Fang Yan had already prepared for the sinking of the ship, anyway, he was confident that he would escape and survive.

After walking around the ship for a while, Fang Yan was the only one who was idle, and the several pirates hired were all performing their duties, because his prestige was not an exaggeration to say that he was conscientious. Only because he didn't know how to do anything could help him, Fang Yan was also happy to be idle.

After staying on the deck for a while and getting tired of seeing the scenery on the sea, Fang Yan returned to the cabin, thought about it, and walked to the power cabin to take a look. Because it is a steam-powered ship, the power compartment of the Hope is particularly large, taking up half of the ship's cabin, and is divided by a wall in the middle.

The main body of the power compartment is a huge boiler, the flames inside are blazing, the high temperature causes the internal water tank to constantly turn into steam and pass along the pipes, and the propellers on both sides of the hull are driven by the water vapor to rotate non-stop. In addition to the boiler and a lot of necessary tools, the power compartment was filled with a large amount of coal as fuel for the boiler.

According to Tom Sr.'s calculations, the fuel would even be enough for the Hope to sail west of Valoran, to Demacia, enough for the round trip. What's more, because of his identity as a forger, Fang Yan's storage bracer also stored a large amount of Falvat coal, this kind of high-quality coal, which is often used by Fang Yan as a secret weapon, is enough to burn for half a day, so there is no problem with the fuel of the Hope.

Because of the power structure of the steamship, the most heavy position on the ship is responsible for shoveling coal into the boiler, so the frequent and long hours of machinery cannot be borne by ordinary people. So, Fang Yan used the summoning scroll from Gilgamesh to call out the domesticated troll to take charge of the work.

This troll is two meters long, but it doesn't look much taller than a human because of its slumped body, but its strength and physical strength are much stronger than ordinary people, and this job is not a problem for him at all. Fang Yan also won the support and awe of the pirates on the ship.

Look at the hard-working trolls with satisfaction, and there is no shame in the ruthless exploitation of labor, because this is the reality of Valoran. Taking a piece of jerky from the bracer of the storage and rewarding it to the troll, he carefully took a large bite with excitement on his face, and after eating it, he threw himself into his work energetically. For trolls, being well fed is the greatest boon.

Seeing this situation, Fang Yan turned around and left the power cabin with satisfaction and returned to the deck. Lying on the railing and looking at the scenery that was constantly drifting by, Fang Yan secretly calculated in his heart: "According to this degree, we will be able to reach the Devil's Sea Sea in about three days...... It's not a good thing to arrive too early, who knows what dangers are there, and there are still six days to go, so let's let the Hope arrive a day early. ”

"Then take advantage of the past few days to study the ship carefully, I have felt that there are some similarities between shipbuilding and forging before, and this time we must find out." (To be continued)

ps:Collected more than 7o.,This mood is all kinds of sour...... =_=